Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner

The Uncanny valley hypothesis, which tells us that almost-human characteristics in a robot or a device could cause uneasiness in human observers, is an important research theme in the Human Robot Interaction (HRI) field. Yet, that phenomenon is still not well-understood. Many have investigated the e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matthieu Destephe, Martim Brandao, Tatsuhiro Kishi, Massimiliano Zecca, Kenji Hashimoto, Atsuo Takanishi
Format: Default Article
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2134/17566
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id rr-article-9568400
record_format Figshare
spelling rr-article-95684002015-01-01T00:00:00Z Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner Matthieu Destephe (7207634) Martim Brandao (7207637) Tatsuhiro Kishi (7206527) Massimiliano Zecca (1256181) Kenji Hashimoto (36400) Atsuo Takanishi (245869) Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified Humanoid robot Emotion Uncanny valley Cross-cultural study Acceptability Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified The Uncanny valley hypothesis, which tells us that almost-human characteristics in a robot or a device could cause uneasiness in human observers, is an important research theme in the Human Robot Interaction (HRI) field. Yet, that phenomenon is still not well-understood. Many have investigated the external design of humanoid robot faces and bodies but only a few studies have focused on the influence of robot movements on our perception and feelings of the Uncanny valley. Moreover, no research has investigated the possible relation between our uneasiness feeling and whether or not we would accept robots having a job in an office, a hospital or elsewhere. To better understand the Uncanny valley, we explore several factors which might have an influence on our perception of robots, be it related to the subjects, such as culture or attitude toward robots, or related to the robot such as emotions and emotional intensity displayed in its motion. We asked 69 subjects (N = 69) to rate the motions of a humanoid robot (Perceived Humanity, Eeriness, and Attractiveness) and state where they would rather see the robot performing a task. Our results suggest that, among the factors we chose to test, the attitude toward robots is the main influence on the perception of the robot related to the Uncanny valley. Robot occupation acceptability was affected only by Attractiveness, mitigating any Uncanny valley effect. We discuss the implications of these findings for the Uncanny valley and the acceptability of a robotic worker in our society. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 2134/17566 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Walking_in_the_uncanny_valley_importance_of_the_attractiveness_on_the_acceptance_of_a_robot_as_a_working_partner/9568400 CC BY 3.0
institution Loughborough University
collection Figshare
topic Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified
Humanoid robot
Emotion
Uncanny valley
Cross-cultural study
Acceptability
Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified
spellingShingle Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified
Humanoid robot
Emotion
Uncanny valley
Cross-cultural study
Acceptability
Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified
Matthieu Destephe
Martim Brandao
Tatsuhiro Kishi
Massimiliano Zecca
Kenji Hashimoto
Atsuo Takanishi
Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner
description The Uncanny valley hypothesis, which tells us that almost-human characteristics in a robot or a device could cause uneasiness in human observers, is an important research theme in the Human Robot Interaction (HRI) field. Yet, that phenomenon is still not well-understood. Many have investigated the external design of humanoid robot faces and bodies but only a few studies have focused on the influence of robot movements on our perception and feelings of the Uncanny valley. Moreover, no research has investigated the possible relation between our uneasiness feeling and whether or not we would accept robots having a job in an office, a hospital or elsewhere. To better understand the Uncanny valley, we explore several factors which might have an influence on our perception of robots, be it related to the subjects, such as culture or attitude toward robots, or related to the robot such as emotions and emotional intensity displayed in its motion. We asked 69 subjects (N = 69) to rate the motions of a humanoid robot (Perceived Humanity, Eeriness, and Attractiveness) and state where they would rather see the robot performing a task. Our results suggest that, among the factors we chose to test, the attitude toward robots is the main influence on the perception of the robot related to the Uncanny valley. Robot occupation acceptability was affected only by Attractiveness, mitigating any Uncanny valley effect. We discuss the implications of these findings for the Uncanny valley and the acceptability of a robotic worker in our society.
format Default
Article
author Matthieu Destephe
Martim Brandao
Tatsuhiro Kishi
Massimiliano Zecca
Kenji Hashimoto
Atsuo Takanishi
author_facet Matthieu Destephe
Martim Brandao
Tatsuhiro Kishi
Massimiliano Zecca
Kenji Hashimoto
Atsuo Takanishi
author_sort Matthieu Destephe (7207634)
title Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner
title_short Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner
title_full Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner
title_fullStr Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner
title_full_unstemmed Walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner
title_sort walking in the uncanny valley: importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner
publishDate 2015
url https://hdl.handle.net/2134/17566
_version_ 1794751292495626240